BREAKING NEWS:

French President Emmanuel Macron greets Belgium's Queen Mathilde and King Philippe as they prepare to watch their countries do battle

TASS, Moscow :Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his French Counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Team France's victory over Belgium and advancement to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, the Kremlin press service said early on Wednesday."Shortly after the semifinal game between teams of France and Belgium, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call to French President Emmanuel Macron, who was present at the game. Putin warmly congratulated Macron and all French fans on their team's victory in this match and their advancement to the World Cup final," the statement reads.Moreover, the Russian president also made a phone call to King Philippe of Belgium, who was also present at the game. Putin noted that "Team Belgium has demonstrated supreme football throughout the entire championship," the Kremlin press service said.The French national football team defeated Belgium 1-0 in the semifinal match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, played on Tuesday night in Russia's Saint Petersburg, to become the first team to vie for the much-coveted FIFA World Cup Trophy this year.The match at the over 68,000-seat capacity Saint Petersburg Arena saw tonight an attendance of some 64,286, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, French President Emmanuel Macron as well as King Philippe of Belgium with his spouse Queen Mathilde.In another semifinal match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Croatian football squad is set to take on Team England on Wednesday, July 11, at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. The match is scheduled to start also at 9:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT).